Josh Duggar’s absence from recent family photos is upsetting some fans of 19 Kids and Counting. The Duggars may be excluding their oldest son from pictures because they don’t want his presence to remind people of the sexual molestation scandal that recently rocked their family. However, hardcore Duggar fans are upset that Josh is seemingly being shunned by his family members.

The Duggars recently shared the photo below on their family Facebook page. It shows the family celebrating the recent engagement of Amy Duggar to her boyfriend Dillon King. Amy is a cousin of Josh Duggar and his siblings, and she’s appeared on a few episodes of 19 Kids and Counting.

Amy is standing next to her fiance in the center of the photo, and Jinger, Jana, and Jessa Duggar are on the left. Josh’s heavily pregnant wife, Anna Duggar, is standing next to Jessa. She’s wearing the bright blue shirt and holding her two-year-old son Marcus.

“We are so excited for our niece Amy Duggar and Dillion King on getting engaged,” Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar captioned the photo below. “We tell every couple that as a husband and wife individually draw close to God, they will draw close to each other. We love you Amy & Dillion and pray that God will continue to bless your relationship as you put Him first in your lives!”

According to the Daily Mail, many fans were upset that Josh Duggar didn’t appear in the family photo alongside his wife, and they assumed that his absence had something to do with his confession that he sexually molested four of his younger sisters and a female babysitter. This shocking admission has jeopardized the future of 19 Kids and Counting.

“Congrats Amy! I hope the Duggars don’t make a habit of leaving Josh out and this was just the situation of the moment,” Duggar Facebook fan Chantel “Paulsen” Middleton commented on the photo above. “Don’t remove a relative for fame to support the haters, as you will lose the fans that love you and your family values.”

“I miss the Duggars…I want the show back. Josh probably stayed out of the pic to help avoid more scandal or controversy,” Anje Glinskie speculated.

Diana Luebker was a bit harsher with her criticism of Josh’s absence.

“Shame on the parents for leaving Josh out. They knew what had happen and covered it up. Now that it’s out they should be standing by there [sic] son. All they are looking for is $$$$.”

Many other fans made similar comments, but some refused to believe that Josh’s parents were leaving him out on purpose.

“Josh and Anna’s other son is also absent,” Becky Murrey pointed out. “Many of the guys are missing. With a bigger family you can’t always get everyone there all at the same time.”

However, the photo above wasn’t the only family picture that Josh Duggar was recently excluded from. A photo shared on the Duggar Family Instagram page shows a few members of the Duggar clan dressed up like black and white bovines for Chick-fil-A’s “Cow Appreciation Day,” a fast food giveaway that encourages customers to wear cow costumes to the restaurant in order to score free food. As the Inquisitr previously reported, the Duggars are absolutely obsessed with Chick-fil-A.

In the photo below, Anna Duggar is posing with sister-in-law Jinger Duggar, wedding planner Sierra Dominguez and her husband, and a large group of kids. Once again, Josh Duggar is nowhere to be seen.

A Duggar family friend told the Daily Mail that Josh is actively trying to avoid the camera because of the sexual molestation scandal.

“Josh and cousin Amy are actually the closest in age and grew up together. They are close. If the scandal hadn’t come to light I have no doubt he would have been happily posing in the group photo.”

“It seems like the Duggars are trying to slowly ease back into favor with the public,” another source said. “Josh may have taken the photo, been behind the camera… This is heavily orchestrated to keep Josh out of the public eye for a while.”

Even though Josh Duggar is shying away from photographs, he did recently make his first social media post in over three weeks. The 19 Kids and Counting star started easing himself back into the spotlight by sharing the Instagram message below congratulating Amy Duggar and Dillon King on their engagement.

As the Inquisitr previously reported, there was some speculation that Amy Duggar was Josh’s fifth molestation victim. However, Dillon made sure to let 19 Kids and Counting fans know that his fiancee wasn’t molested by her cousin.

Are you surprised that Josh Duggar is still laying low, and do you think he’s doing it because he thinks it will help save his family’s show?